FROM SWAMP TO RICH LAND.

Bush Advocate, Volume XXII, Issue 34, 10 February 1910, Page 7

FROM SWAMP TO RICH LAND.

The transformation of the Piako Swamp from a huge area of useless land to an estate capable of becoming a most important factor in the productivity of the dominion is proceeding apace. Preparations are well in hand for opening for public competition in May next some 17,000 acres of the erstwhile swamp land,

in blocks of 100 acres and upwards, and it is more than likely that another 10,000 acres will be opened in the following October. At the present time the Laud and Survey Department has about 1000 bead of cattle on the land in question, and the reports are to the effect that it takes them all their time to keep the grass and clover down to reasonable limits. The total area reclaimed is 90,000 acres, of which, as already stated, some 17,000 acres are nearly ready for disposal (on the optional system), and 10,000 more are being quickly got into the same condition. To gain that end a central canal, wide and deep, has been cut for about fifteen miles, a huge stop-bank has been built to keep out the tide, automatic sluice gates have been constructed, and over 160 miles of drains are carrying off the water and converting the swamp lands into rich alluvial flats. The progress of the Piako will be watched with considerable interest.